Mostly about my backyard chickens. (Boring, I know), but there are a lot of us out here. Mine are only kept as pampered pets. I could eat a neighbor's chicken, but not MINE. There may be a comment on current events only if I get riled up enough. And there will always be a cartoon or a joke to cheer us. I promise to try my very best to respond to comments. Now I have to figure out how this blogger thingy works....

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

These fish are slow-moving and rely on their camouflage as protection against predation; they drift in the water and with the leaf-like appendages resemble the swaying seaweed of their habitat. They lack a prehensile tail that enables similar species to clasp and anchor themselves.
Individuals are observed either on their own or in pairs; feeding on tiny crustaceans and other zoo plankton by sucking prey into their toothless mouths. Like seahorses, sea dragon males are the sex that cares for the developing eggs. Females lay around 120 eggs onto the brood patch located on the underside of the males' tail. The eggs are fertilized and carried by the male for around a month before the hatchlings emerge. Sea dragons, seahorses and pipefish are among the few known species where the male carries the eggs. The young are independent at birth, beginning to eat shortly after.
Mating in captivity is rare since researchers have yet to understand what biological or environmental factors trigger them to reproduce. In captivity the survival rate for weedy sea dragons is about 60%.
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California and the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. in the USA, and the Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia are among the few facilities in the world to have successfully bred weedy sea dragons in captivity, though others occasionally report egg laying. [ In March 2012 the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, USA, announced a successful breeding event of weedy sea dragons. As of July 2012, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has also successfully bred and hatched out baby weedy sea dragons on exhibit.

It was -13 yesterday morning - hurt to breathe out there! Thankfully it warmed up a bit during the day!

The snow banks are getting higher!

More and more deer are coming around. There are two large herds that live in the back of the property.

These are just some of them:

They are doing a lot of damage to our trees, bushes and plants:

Not much left of this bush:

Usually they come in the evening, but they are so hungry they visit any time of the day.

They even stand on their hid legs and munch on the fir trees.

We spray "Deer Away"on everything, but they still eat them.

They are not afraid of us, either and used to run away when they heard the click of the pellet gun, but not now. When I go out to chase them away, they just stand there and stomp their front feet in defiance.

I'll never know why people start to feed them and then stop doing it. It just creates more problems for them. And us.

Map

Fast Facts

Head and body, 21.75 to 31.5 in (55 to 80 cm); tail, 11.75 to 19.75 in (30 to 50 cm)

Weight:

11 to 30 lbs (5 to 14 kg)

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

The playful North American river otter is equally at home in the
water and on land. It makes its home in a burrow near the water's edge,
and can thrive in river, lake, swamp, or estuary ecosystems. Otter
abodes feature numerous tunnels—one of which usually allows them to come
and go from the water.
These otters swim by propelling themselves
with their powerful tails and flexing their long bodies. They also have
webbed feet, water repellent fur to keep them dry and warm, and
nostrils and ears that close in the water. They remain active in winter,
using ice holes to surface and breathe. They can hold their breath
underwater for some eight minutes.
River otters, members of the
weasel family, hunt at night and feed on whatever might be available.
Fish are a favorite food, but they also eat amphibians, turtles, and
crayfish.
On land, river otters can bound and run quite well, if
not quite as effectively as they swim. They love to playfully slide down
snow-covered, icy, or muddy hills—often ending with a splash in the
water. Otter families of mother and children can be seen enjoying such
fun, which also teaches survival skills.
Males do not help raise
young otters. Females retreat to their underground dens to deliver
litters of one to six young. When the young are only about two months
old, they get an advanced swimming lesson—their mother pushes them into
the water. Otters are natural swimmers and, with parental supervision,
they soon get the hang of it.
These otters' range has been greatly
reduced by habitat loss, though they exist in such numbers that they
are trapped in some locales. Otters are also very sensitive to
environmental pollution.

About Me

Mostly about my backyard chickens (Boring, I know), but there are a lot of us out here. Mine are only kept as pampered pets. I could eat a neighbor's chicken, but not MINE. There may be a comment on current events only if I get riled up enough. And there will always be a cartoon or a joke to cheer us. I promise to try my very best to respond to comments. Now I have to figure out how this blogger thingy works....